1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,083 2 00:00:05,167 --> 00:00:20,167 [music] 3 00:00:31,375 --> 00:00:34,125 This is a Bible. 4 00:00:34,167 --> 00:00:37,208 Here at Mars Hill we love this book, we study this book, 5 00:00:37,292 --> 00:00:41,333 we seek, by the grace of God, to obey and follow this book, 6 00:00:41,375 --> 00:00:46,208 and every Sunday it is my great joy to preach and teach 7 00:00:46,292 --> 00:00:48,208 from the Word of God. 8 00:00:48,292 --> 00:00:51,333 And what I want you to know is this: that everything 9 00:00:51,375 --> 00:00:56,292 in the Bible is equally true. 10 00:00:56,333 --> 00:00:59,000 Everything in the Bible is equally true, 11 00:00:59,083 --> 00:01:04,208 but not everything in the Bible is equally clear. 12 00:01:04,292 --> 00:01:07,375 And what I mean by that is there are sections of Scripture that 13 00:01:07,458 --> 00:01:11,292 are hard to understand--harder to understand than others. 14 00:01:11,333 --> 00:01:13,917 Peter, himself, who is a disciple of Jesus 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 and the human leader of the disciples, who was, himself, 16 00:01:18,083 --> 00:01:20,375 trained by Jesus and wrote a few books of the Bible, 17 00:01:20,458 --> 00:01:26,125 he says this in 2 Peter 3, right around verse 16 where, 18 00:01:26,167 --> 00:01:29,208 in talking about certain parts of the Bible, 19 00:01:29,292 --> 00:01:33,333 he says that they are, quote, "hard to understand." 20 00:01:33,375 --> 00:01:35,000 And so a disciple of Jesus, 21 00:01:35,083 --> 00:01:37,167 Peter, the leader of the disciples of Jesus, 22 00:01:37,250 --> 00:01:41,375 the author of Scripture himself, says Scripture is true 23 00:01:41,458 --> 00:01:44,375 but it is not always clear. 24 00:01:44,458 --> 00:01:47,000 And there are a lot of reasons for this. 25 00:01:47,042 --> 00:01:49,208 Sometimes it's unclear because we don't like what it says 26 00:01:49,292 --> 00:01:51,000 and so we're fighting it. 27 00:01:51,083 --> 00:01:53,333 Romans says that's suppressing the truth. 28 00:01:53,375 --> 00:01:56,292 Sometimes because we're a few thousand years removed 29 00:01:56,333 --> 00:02:00,167 from that time and the cultural differences and colloquialisms 30 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:04,000 could be such that it's not as clear to us as it was 31 00:02:04,083 --> 00:02:05,917 to the original audience 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,167 just because we're separated from them. 33 00:02:08,250 --> 00:02:11,000 And today we hit one of those sections of Scripture 34 00:02:11,083 --> 00:02:15,208 that is true, but not completely clear. 35 00:02:15,292 --> 00:02:18,208 In fact, some commentators would say that this is 36 00:02:18,292 --> 00:02:23,167 the most debated section in the entire New Testament; 37 00:02:23,250 --> 00:02:30,000 that when we hit Luke 21, the interpreters go a number 38 00:02:30,083 --> 00:02:31,917 of different directions. 39 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000 And so let me say this: I'm going to teach and preach, 40 00:02:35,083 --> 00:02:37,125 as I have the great honor of doing, 41 00:02:37,167 --> 00:02:40,333 and I want to be clear about what the Scripture says is clear, 42 00:02:40,375 --> 00:02:43,000 but I also want to give you freedom, 43 00:02:43,042 --> 00:02:44,375 those of you who are real studious, 44 00:02:44,458 --> 00:02:48,125 to perhaps disagree in a kind way. 45 00:02:48,167 --> 00:02:50,375 And in this we believe in unity at Mars Hill, 46 00:02:50,458 --> 00:02:52,917 but not uniformity. 47 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,000 We agree on the big issues, the closed-handed issues about Jesus 48 00:02:56,042 --> 00:02:58,167 and the Bible and sin and heaven and hell 49 00:02:58,250 --> 00:03:01,917 and the need to turn from sin and trust in Christ. 50 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:03,333 We also believe in open-handed issues, 51 00:03:03,375 --> 00:03:06,375 that there are things that we can dialogue and discuss and 52 00:03:06,458 --> 00:03:09,292 debate and disagree about, but we don't need to divide over. 53 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:11,333 And today, in Luke 21, 54 00:03:11,375 --> 00:03:16,000 Jesus is requiring that we put on bifocals. 55 00:03:16,083 --> 00:03:18,208 Bifocals help you see near and far, 56 00:03:18,292 --> 00:03:21,208 depending upon how you're looking. 57 00:03:21,292 --> 00:03:25,083 And what we're going to see in Luke 21 is that Jesus is talking 58 00:03:25,167 --> 00:03:28,167 about events that are very near to his day and what happened 59 00:03:28,250 --> 00:03:31,000 within the course of some 40 years, 60 00:03:31,083 --> 00:03:33,167 and then also he's speaking into the very, very, 61 00:03:33,250 --> 00:03:35,375 very distant future, his Second Coming, 62 00:03:35,458 --> 00:03:37,917 the end of human history, 63 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,000 which now has been a few thousand years, 64 00:03:40,042 --> 00:03:42,000 and we don't know when he'll return. 65 00:03:42,083 --> 00:03:44,375 And so we have the near and the far, 66 00:03:44,458 --> 00:03:46,917 and the big debate is around, well, 67 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,167 what goes in the near bucket and what goes in the far bucket? 68 00:03:50,250 --> 00:03:52,917 And the category is something called eschatology, which means 69 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,167 the study of last things and the return of Jesus 70 00:03:55,250 --> 00:03:57,917 and when will he come and how will he come 71 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,333 and what will happen and what will the world be like 72 00:04:00,375 --> 00:04:02,083 in the days preceding his coming? 73 00:04:02,167 --> 00:04:03,292 And everyone has an opinion. 74 00:04:03,333 --> 00:04:05,292 It can be fun to discuss those things, 75 00:04:05,333 --> 00:04:08,125 but we don't divide over them here at Mars Hill. 76 00:04:08,167 --> 00:04:12,000 Here's the big idea that I want to teach you today. 77 00:04:12,083 --> 00:04:16,917 It comes from Luke 21:5-19, and if you're new, 78 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,125 we've been in the book for almost 2 years. 79 00:04:19,167 --> 00:04:22,125 We really love the Bible, and we're just examining 80 00:04:22,167 --> 00:04:24,208 the life of Jesus here in Luke. 81 00:04:24,292 --> 00:04:27,917 And today the big idea is that the worst tragedies can be 82 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,167 the best opportunities. 83 00:04:30,250 --> 00:04:33,000 And here, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, 84 00:04:33,083 --> 00:04:36,333 he's on his way to the cross, where he is going to be betrayed 85 00:04:36,375 --> 00:04:39,917 by a friend, executed, murdered, God in human flesh will be put 86 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,333 to death in our place for our sins, 87 00:04:42,375 --> 00:04:46,167 the worst tragedy in the history of the world is also 88 00:04:46,250 --> 00:04:49,917 the best opportunity for the hope of the world. 89 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,167 And so we'll begin looking at what Jesus says and does 90 00:04:53,250 --> 00:04:56,125 in Luke 21:5-7. 91 00:04:56,167 --> 00:04:59,125 And the first thing Jesus tells us is that the temple 92 00:04:59,167 --> 00:05:01,000 will be destroyed. 93 00:05:01,083 --> 00:05:03,000 "And while some were speaking of the temple, 94 00:05:03,083 --> 00:05:05,917 "how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 95 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,917 "'As for these things that you see, 96 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,208 "'the days will come when there will not be left here one stone 97 00:05:11,292 --> 00:05:15,167 "'upon another that will not be thrown down.' 98 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:19,000 "And they asked him, 'Teacher, when will these things be, 99 00:05:19,042 --> 00:05:21,167 "and what will be the sign when these things 100 00:05:21,250 --> 00:05:23,333 are about to take place?'" 101 00:05:23,375 --> 00:05:27,083 Now, for us, the significance of this statement could, 102 00:05:27,167 --> 00:05:29,083 perhaps, be lost. 103 00:05:29,167 --> 00:05:33,000 But in that day, the temple was an icon of sorts. 104 00:05:33,042 --> 00:05:36,208 It represented the people of God and it was their hope 105 00:05:36,292 --> 00:05:38,375 and it was their spiritual center. 106 00:05:38,458 --> 00:05:41,208 In the Holy of Holies, at the center of the temple, 107 00:05:41,292 --> 00:05:43,208 that's where God dwelt. 108 00:05:43,292 --> 00:05:47,000 And the people of God would come to the city of God, Jerusalem, 109 00:05:47,083 --> 00:05:50,000 to be near the presence of God at the temple. 110 00:05:50,042 --> 00:05:52,125 And they would come for feasts and celebrations 111 00:05:52,167 --> 00:05:56,000 and to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin. 112 00:05:56,083 --> 00:05:58,125 They would come to meet with the priests, 113 00:05:58,167 --> 00:06:01,125 who were the mediators between them and God. 114 00:06:01,167 --> 00:06:04,292 And they would come as a people and this was their hope 115 00:06:04,333 --> 00:06:07,333 and this was God's home on the earth. 116 00:06:07,375 --> 00:06:11,917 You can't over-stress the significance of the temple 117 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,375 for the people of God in that day. 118 00:06:14,458 --> 00:06:17,333 There was originally a temple that was constructed on roughly 119 00:06:17,375 --> 00:06:21,292 that same site, and it had been destroyed. 120 00:06:21,333 --> 00:06:24,208 And then there was a massive rebuilding effort of what 121 00:06:24,292 --> 00:06:27,333 is called the Second Temple, the Herodian Temple, 122 00:06:27,375 --> 00:06:30,208 during the reign of Herod. 123 00:06:30,292 --> 00:06:33,125 And this was a massive project. 124 00:06:33,167 --> 00:06:37,375 And it went on for years, decades. 125 00:06:37,458 --> 00:06:41,167 And so you have this great city of Jerusalem, 126 00:06:41,250 --> 00:06:44,208 this great heritage of the people of God. 127 00:06:44,292 --> 00:06:48,000 You have this great location where Abraham almost sacrificed 128 00:06:48,042 --> 00:06:52,083 his son, Isaac, the father of the people of God. 129 00:06:52,167 --> 00:06:56,292 And it was said that there would be another provision for sin, 130 00:06:56,333 --> 00:06:59,958 and that would be God the Father, like Abraham, 131 00:07:00,083 --> 00:07:03,083 sending God the Son, Jesus Christ, 132 00:07:03,167 --> 00:07:05,375 to be in the position like Isaac, 133 00:07:05,458 --> 00:07:09,083 to carry his own wood on his back, as Isaac did, 134 00:07:09,167 --> 00:07:13,375 to go to a place of execution, as Isaac was willing to. 135 00:07:13,458 --> 00:07:17,333 And so the whole story of Father Abraham was that there would be 136 00:07:17,375 --> 00:07:23,167 a greater Father sending a perfect Son to lay down his life 137 00:07:23,250 --> 00:07:26,000 for the sins of the world. 138 00:07:26,042 --> 00:07:29,125 And that location became the place where the temple 139 00:07:29,167 --> 00:07:32,125 was built, essentially. 140 00:07:32,167 --> 00:07:36,000 And so the people of God held this place in high honor. 141 00:07:36,083 --> 00:07:39,375 And even to go to Israel, as we had the privilege to a few years 142 00:07:39,458 --> 00:07:43,917 ago now, it's a city on a hill, just like the Psalms 143 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:45,917 and other sections of the Bible say. 144 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:51,000 And so it sits magnificently and majestically up toward God. 145 00:07:51,042 --> 00:07:55,333 And it was upon rock that the temple was built. 146 00:07:55,375 --> 00:07:58,375 And in the days of Herod when the temple was nearing its 147 00:07:58,458 --> 00:08:02,167 completion, it was one of the great wonders of the world. 148 00:08:02,250 --> 00:08:06,167 As I'd said, they'd been working on it for decades. 149 00:08:06,250 --> 00:08:08,917 And so every year, those who would come, 150 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,333 making their pilgrimage to worship God for the high 151 00:08:11,375 --> 00:08:14,292 and the holy days, the days like the feast of Passover, 152 00:08:14,333 --> 00:08:19,000 as it is the season of, we find here in Luke 21, 153 00:08:19,083 --> 00:08:22,125 they would be excited to see what other work has been done 154 00:08:22,167 --> 00:08:25,000 on the temple, what progress has been made. 155 00:08:25,042 --> 00:08:27,333 And you're talking, friends, about those who tended to be 156 00:08:27,375 --> 00:08:30,167 poor, simple, rural, common folk. 157 00:08:30,250 --> 00:08:33,333 They lived in homes that were about the size of one of our 158 00:08:33,375 --> 00:08:36,333 parking stalls, most of them. 159 00:08:36,375 --> 00:08:41,125 Their homes were made out of straw or wood or brick or stone. 160 00:08:41,167 --> 00:08:47,125 Very simple, very minimal, very primitive. 161 00:08:47,167 --> 00:08:51,208 And as they would journey, sometimes for days on foot, 162 00:08:51,292 --> 00:08:55,000 to go to the temple, to gather as the people of God, 163 00:08:55,083 --> 00:08:59,125 they would be overwhelmed and overcome at the magnificence 164 00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:01,167 of the temple. 165 00:09:01,250 --> 00:09:04,000 It was surrounded with golden gates that would just shine 166 00:09:04,042 --> 00:09:08,000 in the sun, just blasting in brilliance. 167 00:09:08,083 --> 00:09:10,083 It was the biggest thing they'd ever seen. 168 00:09:10,167 --> 00:09:12,917 It was the most extravagant, luxurious thing 169 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,125 they had ever seen. 170 00:09:15,167 --> 00:09:19,000 Just the foundation stones of the temple itself were about 171 00:09:19,083 --> 00:09:22,000 the size of a railroad boxcar. 172 00:09:22,083 --> 00:09:25,917 We had the privilege of going underneath the old ruins and 173 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,333 remains of the temple and seeing some of these enormous stones. 174 00:09:31,375 --> 00:09:35,208 Also, some of the marble that was used for the foundation was 175 00:09:35,292 --> 00:09:39,083 so large that individual slabs weighed upwards of 176 00:09:39,167 --> 00:09:41,292 a hundred tons. 177 00:09:41,333 --> 00:09:46,292 And there were jewels and there was gold and silver and massive, 178 00:09:46,333 --> 00:09:50,167 massive financial investment made in the temple. 179 00:09:50,250 --> 00:09:52,208 It was the pride of the people. 180 00:09:52,292 --> 00:09:55,375 We don't, quite frankly, have anything to compare to it. 181 00:09:55,458 --> 00:10:01,167 The White House is not as loved and as iconic as the temple was. 182 00:10:02,250 --> 00:10:05,125 In Great Britain, Buckingham Palace 183 00:10:05,167 --> 00:10:09,917 doesn't even begin to approach the place that the temple held 184 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,167 in the hearts of the people of God. 185 00:10:12,250 --> 00:10:18,000 It's like that, but to a far grander and greater degree. 186 00:10:18,083 --> 00:10:22,125 And so when Jesus comes along and Jesus says, 187 00:10:22,167 --> 00:10:27,917 "This temple will be destroyed," he is making a statement 188 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,333 that would have absolutely concerned the people of God, 189 00:10:31,375 --> 00:10:36,917 the Israelites, and furthermore would have been very scandalous 190 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,000 to Herod, the Roman government, and the political leaders. 191 00:10:41,083 --> 00:10:43,917 This was not only a place of worship; 192 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,125 this was a place of business. 193 00:10:46,167 --> 00:10:49,083 This is a place where commerce was transacted, 194 00:10:49,167 --> 00:10:52,000 tourists would come. 195 00:10:52,083 --> 00:10:55,333 In some regard, it would be like Jesus coming today 196 00:10:55,375 --> 00:10:57,208 to Southern California and saying, 197 00:10:57,292 --> 00:10:59,833 "I'm going to destroy Disneyland." 198 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,167 All of a sudden, all of those auxiliary businesses that are 199 00:11:03,250 --> 00:11:06,375 earning their income from that tourist destination, 200 00:11:06,458 --> 00:11:08,917 they have a stake. 201 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,333 This is like Jesus coming to the United States of America 202 00:11:11,375 --> 00:11:14,167 and saying, "I'm going to get rid of the White House 203 00:11:14,250 --> 00:11:15,917 because we don't need it anymore." 204 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,917 Or going to Great Britain and saying, 205 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,208 "We will now be done with Buckingham Palace 206 00:11:20,292 --> 00:11:23,208 "and I will take it to the ground brick by brick. 207 00:11:23,292 --> 00:11:25,375 There'll be nothing left." 208 00:11:25,458 --> 00:11:31,000 See, people tend to associate holiness with a place. 209 00:11:31,083 --> 00:11:34,083 They tend to be idolaters who worship created things 210 00:11:34,167 --> 00:11:38,333 like church buildings or, like, man-made leaders or, like, 211 00:11:38,375 --> 00:11:44,083 sacred spaces, be they churches or temples 212 00:11:44,167 --> 00:11:48,125 or mosques or synagogues. 213 00:11:48,167 --> 00:11:51,083 And they think that those are holy places that make them 214 00:11:51,167 --> 00:11:53,208 closer to God. 215 00:11:53,292 --> 00:11:56,917 And the truth is, if you try to take away someone's idol, 216 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:58,917 they react violently. 217 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,333 This is true of everything from alcohol to gambling 218 00:12:02,375 --> 00:12:06,333 to sex to religion. 219 00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:09,000 We attach ourselves to our idols, 220 00:12:09,083 --> 00:12:13,208 someone tries to take them away, and we attack them. 221 00:12:13,292 --> 00:12:16,167 And that's exactly what is going to happen here. 222 00:12:16,250 --> 00:12:20,083 And Jesus is saying, "The temple is going to be no more." 223 00:12:20,167 --> 00:12:22,125 And you need to know this, as well. 224 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:25,000 The temple is not yet even done being constructed. 225 00:12:25,083 --> 00:12:28,333 It's been under construction for decades and it is nearing 226 00:12:28,375 --> 00:12:32,083 its completion, but it's not even done. 227 00:12:32,167 --> 00:12:35,000 And Jesus has come. 228 00:12:35,083 --> 00:12:38,333 And Jesus is condemning that whole religious system. 229 00:12:38,375 --> 00:12:42,125 And Jesus is declaring that it is no longer needed, 230 00:12:42,167 --> 00:12:44,208 the priests, the sacrifices, the temple, 231 00:12:44,292 --> 00:12:48,000 because he is our High Priest. 232 00:12:48,083 --> 00:12:50,000 He is our sacrifice. 233 00:12:50,042 --> 00:12:53,333 He is our temple and the presence of God on the earth. 234 00:12:53,375 --> 00:12:56,208 And what's interesting is those who heard him, 235 00:12:56,292 --> 00:12:58,208 believed him and they trusted him 236 00:12:58,292 --> 00:13:00,208 and they took him at his word. 237 00:13:00,292 --> 00:13:04,083 They didn't protest and say, "Jesus, you can't do that." 238 00:13:04,167 --> 00:13:07,125 Instead they say, "When will this happen? 239 00:13:07,167 --> 00:13:09,000 How will this happen?" 240 00:13:09,083 --> 00:13:11,167 Not "if," but "how and when." 241 00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:13,375 And they want to prepare themselves for this 242 00:13:13,458 --> 00:13:17,000 epic historical transition. 243 00:13:17,042 --> 00:13:20,125 And so not only will the temple be destroyed, 244 00:13:20,167 --> 00:13:25,000 Jesus goes on to indicate that also false teachers will arise. 245 00:13:25,083 --> 00:13:27,125 And he says this in Luke 21:8-9, 246 00:13:27,167 --> 00:13:30,292 "And he said, 'See that you are not led astray. 247 00:13:30,333 --> 00:13:34,917 "'For many will come in my name, saying, "I am he!" 248 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000 "'and, "The time is at hand!" 249 00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:39,000 "'Do not go after them. 250 00:13:39,042 --> 00:13:42,083 "'And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, 251 00:13:42,167 --> 00:13:44,333 "'for these things must first take place, 252 00:13:44,375 --> 00:13:47,333 but the end will not be at once.'" 253 00:13:47,375 --> 00:13:50,083 You see the bifocal perspective here? 254 00:13:50,167 --> 00:13:55,292 Jesus is saying, "Very shortly, the temple will be destroyed." 255 00:13:55,333 --> 00:14:00,125 And the temple was ultimately destroyed in 70 AD. 256 00:14:00,167 --> 00:14:04,125 And just like Jesus promised, all of the stones were torn 257 00:14:04,167 --> 00:14:08,292 to the ground and it no longer exists. 258 00:14:08,333 --> 00:14:12,917 And the Temple Mount today is controlled by Muslims and Islam. 259 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,292 There are no priests, there are no sacrifices. 260 00:14:16,333 --> 00:14:18,167 There is no temple. 261 00:14:18,250 --> 00:14:20,167 Jesus knows the future. 262 00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:22,208 Jesus controls the future. 263 00:14:22,292 --> 00:14:29,917 Jesus--he, in fact, prophesied something that no one thought 264 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,000 could possibly happen: the destruction of the temple. 265 00:14:33,083 --> 00:14:35,333 That's the near prophecy. 266 00:14:35,375 --> 00:14:38,333 And then here he gives us the far prophecy, 267 00:14:38,375 --> 00:14:41,125 that, in addition, there will be false teachers, 268 00:14:41,167 --> 00:14:43,292 and they will begin in the days of Jesus, 269 00:14:43,333 --> 00:14:46,083 and they will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus. 270 00:14:46,167 --> 00:14:48,167 And I want you to hear this. 271 00:14:48,250 --> 00:14:51,125 He says that they are, in fact, false teachers. 272 00:14:51,167 --> 00:14:52,917 And then what do they do? 273 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,000 They lead astray. 274 00:14:55,083 --> 00:14:57,292 Now, they lead, but they lead astray. 275 00:14:57,333 --> 00:15:00,083 Friends, not every religion is right. 276 00:15:00,167 --> 00:15:03,000 Not every spiritual leader tells the truth. 277 00:15:03,083 --> 00:15:07,125 Not every gifted, powerful person is leading you toward 278 00:15:07,167 --> 00:15:09,000 the truth of God. 279 00:15:09,083 --> 00:15:11,125 Some lead astray. 280 00:15:11,167 --> 00:15:14,333 This is very controversial in our day to say that it is not 281 00:15:14,375 --> 00:15:17,917 enough to be spiritual, you need to be truthful. 282 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000 It is not enough just to be sincere, 283 00:15:20,083 --> 00:15:23,917 you also have to be right about who God is and what direction 284 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,333 your life is going. 285 00:15:25,375 --> 00:15:29,167 And Jesus says here that there are religions and false teachers 286 00:15:29,250 --> 00:15:33,292 and spiritual influencers who will come to lead people astray. 287 00:15:33,333 --> 00:15:35,292 To lead people astray. 288 00:15:35,333 --> 00:15:38,208 That it used to be that the center was at the temple 289 00:15:38,292 --> 00:15:40,125 and the center was around Judaism. 290 00:15:40,167 --> 00:15:45,125 And as Jesus has fulfilled that, that all of a sudden there is an 291 00:15:45,167 --> 00:15:48,208 opportunity for false teachers to come in and to compete 292 00:15:48,292 --> 00:15:52,292 with him for influence and for leadership for the hearts 293 00:15:52,333 --> 00:15:56,000 and the souls and the minds of people. 294 00:15:56,083 --> 00:15:58,000 Now you need to know this: 295 00:15:58,083 --> 00:16:01,292 There are people who are false teachers. 296 00:16:01,333 --> 00:16:05,125 They do lead astray. 297 00:16:05,167 --> 00:16:09,125 And he says that they will prey on the emotions of people 298 00:16:09,167 --> 00:16:12,333 who are scared. 299 00:16:12,375 --> 00:16:18,125 In that day, people were devastated emotionally. 300 00:16:18,167 --> 00:16:22,375 Life as they knew it was forever altered. 301 00:16:22,458 --> 00:16:28,000 Their feasts, their high holy days, their ethnic devotion, 302 00:16:28,083 --> 00:16:32,167 their national identity, their spiritual history 303 00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:35,125 was forever changed. 304 00:16:35,167 --> 00:16:37,000 And it leads to anxiety. 305 00:16:37,083 --> 00:16:39,333 Just like today, it's a season of anxiety. 306 00:16:39,375 --> 00:16:42,208 Times are tough economically. 307 00:16:42,292 --> 00:16:44,292 Times are tough, terrorism. 308 00:16:44,333 --> 00:16:46,333 Times are tough, uncertainty. 309 00:16:46,375 --> 00:16:48,917 Times are tough. 310 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,375 The world feels unstable. 311 00:16:51,458 --> 00:16:56,333 Things are changing, and much of it's not for the good. 312 00:16:56,375 --> 00:17:01,000 People are losing money, losing help, 313 00:17:01,083 --> 00:17:05,292 losing encouragement and hope, losing their spouse. 314 00:17:05,333 --> 00:17:09,333 Life falls apart in a myriad of ways. 315 00:17:09,375 --> 00:17:11,292 And Jesus says when that happens, 316 00:17:11,333 --> 00:17:15,125 there's an opportunity for false teachers to come in and to give 317 00:17:15,167 --> 00:17:18,000 false hope and to lead people astray because they're 318 00:17:18,042 --> 00:17:21,125 particularly vulnerable in times of crisis. 319 00:17:21,167 --> 00:17:24,125 That was true in the near, in the days of Jesus, 320 00:17:24,167 --> 00:17:26,208 leading up to the destruction of the temple, 321 00:17:26,292 --> 00:17:31,000 and it's true in the far, including our own age. 322 00:17:31,042 --> 00:17:33,000 Now, Jesus prophesied that there would be people 323 00:17:33,083 --> 00:17:34,208 who would predict two things. 324 00:17:34,292 --> 00:17:36,125 Number one, the end of the world. 325 00:17:36,167 --> 00:17:38,167 And number two, that they were him. 326 00:17:38,250 --> 00:17:42,083 And what's interesting is that many major religious leaders and 327 00:17:42,167 --> 00:17:46,375 founders absolutely, tragically fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus, 328 00:17:46,458 --> 00:17:48,208 that they would come and say, 329 00:17:48,292 --> 00:17:50,333 "I know when the end of the world is." 330 00:17:50,375 --> 00:17:53,208 I'll give you some examples. 331 00:17:53,292 --> 00:17:56,292 The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, 332 00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:59,125 he said that the end of the world would come by 333 00:17:59,167 --> 00:18:03,917 the conclusion of his life, which was, I believe, in 1891. 334 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,208 Ellen White, the founder of the Seventh-Day Adventism movement 335 00:18:07,292 --> 00:18:11,125 had multiple, repeated predictions as to when 336 00:18:11,167 --> 00:18:13,125 the world would end. 337 00:18:13,167 --> 00:18:15,000 They were all wrong. 338 00:18:15,042 --> 00:18:17,167 If you ever drive by a Seventh-Day Adventist church, 339 00:18:17,250 --> 00:18:19,917 some are cults, some are Christian. 340 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 There's a whole myriad of belief within the SDA. 341 00:18:23,083 --> 00:18:25,167 But oftentimes they're having prophecy conferences 342 00:18:25,250 --> 00:18:28,125 and prophecy lectures and taking the Bible 343 00:18:28,167 --> 00:18:30,125 and taking the nightly news 344 00:18:30,167 --> 00:18:32,292 and putting them together and trying to predict when 345 00:18:32,333 --> 00:18:36,000 the end of the world will be and "these are signs of the end" 346 00:18:36,042 --> 00:18:38,333 and it causes people to be scared and to be worried 347 00:18:38,375 --> 00:18:40,000 and to have anxiety. 348 00:18:40,083 --> 00:18:42,167 And then it leads an opportunity for false teachers. 349 00:18:42,250 --> 00:18:44,333 We recently got in the mail at our house, 350 00:18:44,375 --> 00:18:46,000 yet another of these invitations. 351 00:18:46,083 --> 00:18:48,333 Oh, this Seventh-Day Adventist church is doing a prophecy 352 00:18:48,375 --> 00:18:52,083 conference on the beast and the mark of the beast and 666 353 00:18:52,167 --> 00:18:55,333 and the end of the world and Armageddon and the global crisis 354 00:18:55,375 --> 00:18:57,333 and the oil shortage. 355 00:18:57,375 --> 00:19:00,125 And it can really freak you out. 356 00:19:00,167 --> 00:19:03,208 Jesus says that's what happens. 357 00:19:03,292 --> 00:19:06,000 Times get hard, some people think, 358 00:19:06,083 --> 00:19:11,125 "If I can get everyone scared, they'll follow me." 359 00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:15,208 As well, in 1914, the Jehovah Witnesses, 360 00:19:15,292 --> 00:19:19,125 which is a cult that splintered off from Christianity, 361 00:19:19,167 --> 00:19:22,208 it predicted the Second Coming of Jesus in 1914, 362 00:19:22,292 --> 00:19:25,000 the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society did. 363 00:19:25,042 --> 00:19:27,083 Obviously that was wrong. 364 00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:30,125 So then they said, "Oh, it was a spiritual return." 365 00:19:30,167 --> 00:19:32,083 Like in "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." 366 00:19:32,167 --> 00:19:36,000 "Oh, it really is a fact, but you just can't see it." 367 00:19:36,083 --> 00:19:39,125 They've since had upwards of nine other predictions of 368 00:19:39,167 --> 00:19:43,208 the end of the world, obviously all of which were false. 369 00:19:43,292 --> 00:19:47,333 Some who are even within Christianity, like Hal Lindsey, 370 00:19:47,375 --> 00:19:51,292 he may not be someone you know, but they like to have 371 00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:54,375 television shows and programs and best-selling books. 372 00:19:54,458 --> 00:19:57,375 And he and guys like Jack Van Impe and others, 373 00:19:57,458 --> 00:20:00,125 they like to predict the end of the world, 374 00:20:00,167 --> 00:20:03,375 or at least talk about the signs of the end of the age. 375 00:20:03,458 --> 00:20:07,167 People get really scared and worried. 376 00:20:07,250 --> 00:20:12,333 In 1991, the Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, 377 00:20:12,375 --> 00:20:15,000 he predicted the war of Armageddon that year 378 00:20:15,083 --> 00:20:18,333 around the Gulf Crisis. 379 00:20:18,375 --> 00:20:21,375 We also recently saw it as well, didn't we? 380 00:20:21,458 --> 00:20:23,375 Harold Camping. 381 00:20:23,458 --> 00:20:26,375 He's a self-appointed Bible teacher. 382 00:20:26,458 --> 00:20:29,125 He predicted the end of the world in 1994, 383 00:20:29,167 --> 00:20:31,333 swing and a miss. 384 00:20:31,375 --> 00:20:36,125 So he predicted it again here recently, May 11, 2011. 385 00:20:36,167 --> 00:20:40,000 There were billboards all over the major cities in America. 386 00:20:40,083 --> 00:20:43,333 His followers and fans went out on bus tours and handing out 387 00:20:43,375 --> 00:20:47,167 literature and wearing shirts and going on the news. 388 00:20:47,250 --> 00:20:50,333 Swing and a miss, the date was wrong. 389 00:20:50,375 --> 00:20:52,208 And it kind of turned Christianity into 390 00:20:52,292 --> 00:20:54,000 a laughing stock among many. 391 00:20:54,042 --> 00:20:57,333 "Oh, those silly Christians and their false predictions." 392 00:20:57,375 --> 00:21:00,125 And when a guy like that comes along and says, 393 00:21:00,167 --> 00:21:02,000 "I know what the Bible says. 394 00:21:02,083 --> 00:21:05,917 And if you believe the Bible, you must believe me." 395 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,333 All of the Bible is equally true. 396 00:21:08,375 --> 00:21:12,083 Not all of the Bible is equally clear. 397 00:21:12,167 --> 00:21:16,167 Corinthians tells us that we see some things dimly, 398 00:21:16,250 --> 00:21:21,125 like a fogged window that we're gazing through. 399 00:21:21,167 --> 00:21:23,125 The reality is true, but our sight 400 00:21:23,167 --> 00:21:26,917 might not be entirely clear. 401 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,083 And what that does is that causes some people to then have 402 00:21:30,167 --> 00:21:32,125 a distrust for the Bible. 403 00:21:32,167 --> 00:21:33,917 But let me tell you, friends, 404 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,917 there's a difference between what the Bible says, 405 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,000 and what one man's interpretation of it is. 406 00:21:42,375 --> 00:21:46,208 And it's sad when things like that happen because 407 00:21:46,292 --> 00:21:49,208 the late-night talk show hosts then start making jokes about 408 00:21:49,292 --> 00:21:52,292 foolish Christians and their nonsensical predictions. 409 00:21:52,333 --> 00:21:54,375 And the truth is, Jesus is coming. 410 00:21:54,458 --> 00:21:56,375 There will be a resurrection of the dead. 411 00:21:56,458 --> 00:21:58,125 There will be heaven and hell. 412 00:21:58,167 --> 00:22:03,375 We don't know when it is, but we know that it will be. 413 00:22:03,458 --> 00:22:06,208 And so we need to be humble in the prediction 414 00:22:06,292 --> 00:22:11,333 of when that might be, and avoid unnecessary speculation, 415 00:22:11,375 --> 00:22:14,292 but not miss the big truths. 416 00:22:14,333 --> 00:22:17,375 And when we put them all together with our own 417 00:22:17,458 --> 00:22:23,208 predictions, then what we do is we undermine the credibility of 418 00:22:23,292 --> 00:22:25,125 the entire teaching of the Bible 419 00:22:25,167 --> 00:22:28,125 in the eyes of the watching world. 420 00:22:28,167 --> 00:22:30,333 And you're gonna see it again next year, friends. 421 00:22:30,375 --> 00:22:32,167 And don't freak out. 422 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:35,333 Because 2012 is, according to some, 423 00:22:35,375 --> 00:22:38,208 the end of the Mayan calendar. 424 00:22:38,292 --> 00:22:42,292 And some say that means the end of the world is next year. 425 00:22:42,333 --> 00:22:45,333 And people are already freaking out, right? 426 00:22:45,375 --> 00:22:49,917 Stacking up ammo, canned goods, bottled water. 427 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,333 And you're gonna see movies coming out, 428 00:22:51,375 --> 00:22:54,333 there's a few already teed up, they're gonna be about the end 429 00:22:54,375 --> 00:23:00,292 of the world, big, cataclysmic, box office, epic, freak-you-out, 430 00:23:00,333 --> 00:23:02,375 sleep-with-one-eye-open, 431 00:23:02,458 --> 00:23:06,000 the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh kind of stuff. 432 00:23:08,375 --> 00:23:12,125 Here's what Jesus says, it's right here, 433 00:23:12,167 --> 00:23:15,333 "The end will not be at once." 434 00:23:15,375 --> 00:23:17,208 It's what he says. 435 00:23:17,292 --> 00:23:20,125 He says it's not gonna all happen in an instant. 436 00:23:20,167 --> 00:23:22,208 God's patient, the Bible says elsewhere. 437 00:23:22,292 --> 00:23:26,333 God's got a plan for human history. 438 00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:28,917 Furthermore, Jesus says elsewhere, 439 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,167 "No one knows the hour or the day." 440 00:23:31,250 --> 00:23:33,167 No one! 441 00:23:33,250 --> 00:23:35,125 Do you know who that includes? 442 00:23:35,167 --> 00:23:36,917 Everyone. 443 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,917 No one knows the hour or the day. 444 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,000 So somebody writes a book or gets on TV or predicts a date 445 00:23:42,083 --> 00:23:44,000 or says we're close or "in my lifetime." 446 00:23:44,083 --> 00:23:46,083 Jesus says no one knows. 447 00:23:46,167 --> 00:23:48,167 So here's the position of Mars Hill Church. 448 00:23:48,250 --> 00:23:51,208 We are on the welcoming committee, 449 00:23:51,292 --> 00:23:55,125 not the planning committee in regards to 450 00:23:55,167 --> 00:23:58,000 the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 451 00:23:58,042 --> 00:24:01,333 When he shows up, we'll welcome him. 452 00:24:01,375 --> 00:24:05,917 We are not planning the party, getting the kazoos, 453 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,125 commissioning the cupcakes, and setting it all up 454 00:24:09,167 --> 00:24:11,292 because we know when it'll happen. 455 00:24:11,333 --> 00:24:13,125 We're on the welcoming committee, 456 00:24:13,167 --> 00:24:15,333 not on the planning committee. 457 00:24:15,375 --> 00:24:18,333 So Jesus says there will be false teachers who prey on 458 00:24:18,375 --> 00:24:22,000 our insecurities and our fears. 459 00:24:22,083 --> 00:24:25,125 And they will predict the end of the world and/or they will tell 460 00:24:25,167 --> 00:24:29,208 the world that they are the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 461 00:24:29,292 --> 00:24:31,917 Because see, friends--if you don't know this, I don't 462 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,125 want to assume anything--Jesus came, lived, died, rose, 463 00:24:35,167 --> 00:24:38,000 conquering Satan, sin, death, hell, and the wrath of God. 464 00:24:38,083 --> 00:24:42,083 He appeared for 40 days, this is historically, actually, 465 00:24:42,167 --> 00:24:44,000 factually true. 466 00:24:44,083 --> 00:24:47,167 He had the crucifixion scars, he witnessed to crowds of upwards 467 00:24:47,250 --> 00:24:51,125 of 500 people, including family, friends, co-workers, 468 00:24:51,167 --> 00:24:52,333 neighbors, and enemies. 469 00:24:52,375 --> 00:24:57,000 They all got to see him, touch him, hear him, verify. 470 00:24:57,042 --> 00:24:59,833 He is God, like he said, he conquered death, like he 471 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,208 said he would, then he ascended into heaven. 472 00:25:03,292 --> 00:25:05,083 And he will return. 473 00:25:05,167 --> 00:25:07,000 He promised that. 474 00:25:07,375 --> 00:25:09,208 He promised that. 475 00:25:09,292 --> 00:25:12,333 And so for us Christians, we're in the time between the times. 476 00:25:12,375 --> 00:25:14,375 We're in the time between the First 477 00:25:14,458 --> 00:25:17,000 and the Second Coming of Jesus. 478 00:25:17,083 --> 00:25:21,000 And Jesus says some will try to get you really scared, saying, 479 00:25:21,083 --> 00:25:22,375 "I'm coming any minute. 480 00:25:22,458 --> 00:25:24,208 The end of the world is near." 481 00:25:24,292 --> 00:25:29,125 And others will say, "I'm he, I'm Jesus, I've returned." 482 00:25:29,167 --> 00:25:31,917 And again, many cults and false religious leaders 483 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,208 and false religions have actually said this. 484 00:25:34,292 --> 00:25:36,125 I'll give you some examples. 485 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:38,208 Arnold Potter, he lived in the 1800s, 486 00:25:38,292 --> 00:25:41,000 he broke off from the Latter-Day Saints, 487 00:25:41,083 --> 00:25:42,375 which is Mormonism, 488 00:25:42,458 --> 00:25:45,125 which is a cult that broke off from faithful Christianity. 489 00:25:45,167 --> 00:25:48,000 He claimed that the spirit of Jesus Christ entered his body, 490 00:25:48,083 --> 00:25:51,083 and he became "Potter Christ, Son of the living God." 491 00:25:51,167 --> 00:25:52,333 And this stuff isn't new. 492 00:25:52,375 --> 00:25:55,208 I mean, all the way back, right after the resurrection and 493 00:25:55,292 --> 00:25:59,000 ascension of Jesus, people were predicting the end of the world. 494 00:25:59,083 --> 00:26:02,000 Also, Paul even has to correct the Thessalonians, 495 00:26:02,042 --> 00:26:05,333 "Hey, it's not any day now, feel free to go back to work." 496 00:26:05,375 --> 00:26:07,208 And many people were saying, 497 00:26:07,292 --> 00:26:09,000 "I'm Jesus, I'm Jesus, I'm Jesus. 498 00:26:09,083 --> 00:26:10,208 I've come back." 499 00:26:10,292 --> 00:26:13,375 And so this has a long history of false teaching. 500 00:26:13,458 --> 00:26:17,167 Baha'u'llah, he was born a Shi'ite, 501 00:26:17,250 --> 00:26:20,125 lived at the end of the 19th century, 502 00:26:20,167 --> 00:26:24,292 he became the father and the founder of the Baha'i faith, 503 00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:27,125 and he said that he was the prophetic fulfillment 504 00:26:27,167 --> 00:26:33,083 and promised uniter of all major world religions. 505 00:26:33,167 --> 00:26:38,292 So that's what he said, but it's not true. 506 00:26:38,333 --> 00:26:43,125 Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church is a cult; 507 00:26:43,167 --> 00:26:45,000 he claims to be the Messiah 508 00:26:45,083 --> 00:26:47,208 and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 509 00:26:47,292 --> 00:26:50,167 Jim Jones said he was the reincarnation of Jesus, 510 00:26:50,250 --> 00:26:52,333 Buddha, and Vladimir Lenin. 511 00:26:52,375 --> 00:26:55,083 Interesting trifecta. 512 00:26:55,167 --> 00:27:00,167 He organized the mass murder-suicide in Jonestown. 513 00:27:00,250 --> 00:27:04,000 Marshall Applewhite, this was some years ago, the late '90s, 514 00:27:04,083 --> 00:27:05,917 he claimed to be Jesus. 515 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,333 He founded the Heaven's Gate cult. 516 00:27:07,375 --> 00:27:10,000 He said when the Hale-Bopp comet was coming through, 517 00:27:10,083 --> 00:27:13,000 there would be a spaceship behind it, so he organized 518 00:27:13,042 --> 00:27:16,917 a mass suicide so that their souls could all be taken on that 519 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,083 space shuttle and taken off into wherever the spiritual realm 520 00:27:20,167 --> 00:27:22,125 would take it. 521 00:27:22,167 --> 00:27:26,917 David Koresh and the Branch Davidian cult was in the 1990s 522 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,333 and you probably have seen this on TV or YouTube. 523 00:27:30,375 --> 00:27:33,917 He said he was the Son of God and the Lamb of God. 524 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,333 And he holed himself up in Waco, Texas, with his followers, 525 00:27:36,375 --> 00:27:42,167 and 54 adults and 21 children died in flames. 526 00:27:42,250 --> 00:27:44,917 And today there's even another man that claims to be 527 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,167 Jesus Christ. 528 00:27:46,250 --> 00:27:49,333 There's a Growing in Grace cult, that's the English translation 529 00:27:49,375 --> 00:27:51,083 of this cult. 530 00:27:51,167 --> 00:27:54,375 It started, I believe, in South Florida, around Miami. 531 00:27:54,458 --> 00:27:58,167 Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda. 532 00:27:58,250 --> 00:28:00,917 He says, quote, "I do much greater things than 533 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,333 Jesus of Nazareth." 534 00:28:02,375 --> 00:28:06,292 He says he is, basically, the Second Coming of Jesus 535 00:28:06,333 --> 00:28:11,083 and even greater than Jesus was during his first coming. 536 00:28:11,167 --> 00:28:15,333 He's been on the news, he's gotten attention, 537 00:28:15,375 --> 00:28:19,375 he's a man who claims to essentially be God among us. 538 00:28:19,458 --> 00:28:22,333 So what does this mean? 539 00:28:22,375 --> 00:28:25,917 This means when times get hard, people get scared 540 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,167 and wolves rise up to lead sheep astray. 541 00:28:29,250 --> 00:28:30,917 You need to know this, friends. 542 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,208 In the Bible there are sheep, those are Christians. 543 00:28:33,292 --> 00:28:36,125 There are wolves, those are false teachers. 544 00:28:36,167 --> 00:28:39,083 And there are shepherds, those are pastors who love their 545 00:28:39,167 --> 00:28:43,083 people and love the Scriptures and love Jesus and through 546 00:28:43,167 --> 00:28:46,167 the Scriptures try to lead the people to love and follow 547 00:28:46,250 --> 00:28:48,208 and serve Jesus. 548 00:28:48,292 --> 00:28:52,917 That's my job, that's our job, and that's what we want. 549 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,333 We don't want you to be afraid when times get hard. 550 00:28:55,375 --> 00:28:58,000 It doesn't mean that it makes it any easier, 551 00:28:58,083 --> 00:29:01,000 but it means that you don't want to emotionally open yourself up 552 00:29:01,083 --> 00:29:04,375 to being led astray, to freaking out unnecessarily, 553 00:29:04,458 --> 00:29:07,125 and to losing your hope that God loves you 554 00:29:07,167 --> 00:29:09,000 and is involved in your life. 555 00:29:09,083 --> 00:29:11,333 And so what can happen is when times get hard, 556 00:29:11,375 --> 00:29:13,167 we run after false saviors, 557 00:29:13,250 --> 00:29:16,333 and we run after functional messiahs. 558 00:29:16,375 --> 00:29:19,375 And sometimes this can be religious leading astray. 559 00:29:19,458 --> 00:29:22,167 And sometimes more practically, this can be, 560 00:29:22,250 --> 00:29:24,292 "My spouse will be my savior. 561 00:29:24,333 --> 00:29:26,292 "My kids will be my savior. 562 00:29:26,333 --> 00:29:28,208 "My job will be my savior. 563 00:29:28,292 --> 00:29:30,333 "My money will be my savior. 564 00:29:30,375 --> 00:29:33,375 "My investments will be my savior. 565 00:29:33,458 --> 00:29:37,000 "My home equity will be my savior. 566 00:29:37,042 --> 00:29:41,208 "My grade point average, my portfolio, my work history, 567 00:29:41,292 --> 00:29:46,125 "my resume, my health will be my savior. 568 00:29:46,167 --> 00:29:49,125 "Someone or something is gonna get me through 569 00:29:49,167 --> 00:29:51,167 this really hard time." 570 00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:54,000 And the big idea is this: there's only one Savior, 571 00:29:54,083 --> 00:29:56,208 and his name is Jesus. 572 00:29:56,292 --> 00:29:59,917 And any functional savior, anyone or anything that we cling 573 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,333 to thinking that this ultimately will deliver me 574 00:30:02,375 --> 00:30:07,208 from these hard times, it's demonic, it's false. 575 00:30:07,292 --> 00:30:09,292 Not that that person or thing is bad, 576 00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:12,917 but we put them in a place of God and we're expecting them 577 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,125 to deliver us. 578 00:30:14,167 --> 00:30:17,000 This is why when the economy crashes, people lose hope. 579 00:30:17,042 --> 00:30:20,000 When their home equity goes away, people lose hope. 580 00:30:20,042 --> 00:30:22,125 When they lose their job, people lose hope. 581 00:30:22,167 --> 00:30:24,125 When their health goes away, people lose hope. 582 00:30:24,167 --> 00:30:26,375 When their marriage goes away, people lose hope. 583 00:30:26,458 --> 00:30:29,333 When their children go away, people lose hope. 584 00:30:29,375 --> 00:30:31,333 And it's not that we shouldn't be discouraged, 585 00:30:31,375 --> 00:30:33,917 and it's not that times are not hard, 586 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,333 but it does mean that we need to be certain that our hope is in 587 00:30:37,375 --> 00:30:41,333 Jesus and that we're running to him and trusting in him and 588 00:30:41,375 --> 00:30:47,125 leaning on him and not simply mourning that our savior 589 00:30:47,167 --> 00:30:52,917 didn't save when, in fact, we had a false savior. 590 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,000 And so I would encourage you, always be checking your heart. 591 00:30:56,042 --> 00:30:58,333 When times get hard, where do you run? 592 00:30:58,375 --> 00:31:01,208 When times get hard, who do you trust? 593 00:31:01,292 --> 00:31:06,167 When times get hard, where do you seek refuge? 594 00:31:06,250 --> 00:31:10,167 Jesus says hard times come, false teachers arise 595 00:31:10,250 --> 00:31:12,333 to lead people astray. 596 00:31:12,375 --> 00:31:15,000 Be careful that's not you. 597 00:31:15,083 --> 00:31:19,917 He then says, as well, that sin will continue. 598 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:25,208 This was in his day, it's in our day, until the last day. 599 00:31:25,292 --> 00:31:28,083 Luke 21:10-12, "Then he said to them, 600 00:31:28,167 --> 00:31:30,000 "'Nation will rise against nation, 601 00:31:30,042 --> 00:31:31,208 "'and kingdom against kingdom. 602 00:31:31,292 --> 00:31:32,917 "'There will be great earthquakes, 603 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,917 "'and in various places famines and pestilences. 604 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,292 And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.'" 605 00:31:38,333 --> 00:31:40,917 Cataclysmic, natural disasters. 606 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,333 Tsunamis, hurricanes, and the like. 607 00:31:43,375 --> 00:31:46,208 "'But before all this they will lay their hands on you 608 00:31:46,292 --> 00:31:48,375 "'and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues 609 00:31:48,458 --> 00:31:51,208 "'and prisons, and you will be brought before kings 610 00:31:51,292 --> 00:31:54,000 and governors for my name's sake.'" 611 00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:56,167 Again, bifocal perspective. 612 00:31:56,250 --> 00:32:01,000 Jesus says shortly coming, in the next few years, 613 00:32:01,083 --> 00:32:03,917 continuing all the way to the end of the age, 614 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,208 things are gonna get hard. 615 00:32:05,292 --> 00:32:08,208 And there's gonna be seasons of great, cataclysmic, 616 00:32:08,292 --> 00:32:11,000 global suffering. 617 00:32:11,042 --> 00:32:13,000 This is because of sin. 618 00:32:13,083 --> 00:32:15,125 Friends, you need to know this. 619 00:32:15,167 --> 00:32:16,333 It's because of sin. 620 00:32:16,375 --> 00:32:19,917 When God got done with the world, he said it was all, 621 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,000 quote, "very good," Genesis 1:31, "All very good." 622 00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:26,917 Ecclesiastes says that God made us upright, 623 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,292 and we have made life crooked. 624 00:32:30,333 --> 00:32:33,000 That everything God did was good 625 00:32:33,083 --> 00:32:36,000 and everything that we've done is bad. 626 00:32:36,083 --> 00:32:39,167 And Romans 8 says that creation is groaning and yearning 627 00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:42,917 and awaiting its deliverance because our sin has affected, 628 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:46,000 infected every one and every thing. 629 00:32:46,042 --> 00:32:48,917 So when you look at things and they're horrible 630 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,208 and cataclysmic--I had the opportunity, 631 00:32:51,292 --> 00:32:54,375 as some of you know, to be in Haiti right after the quake. 632 00:32:54,458 --> 00:32:56,917 Just dead bodies everywhere. 633 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,917 The stench of death in the street. 634 00:33:00,042 --> 00:33:03,292 People homeless, devastated, poor, suffering. 635 00:33:03,333 --> 00:33:07,292 Even to go back a year later, very little progress. 636 00:33:07,333 --> 00:33:10,917 And so we're funding and serving and helping in that area 637 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,000 and region through Churches Helping Churches. 638 00:33:13,042 --> 00:33:15,000 But just to look at what happened 639 00:33:15,083 --> 00:33:17,917 in just a few short seconds. 640 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000 Lives taken, we'll never know the number. 641 00:33:21,042 --> 00:33:22,333 Homes destroyed. 642 00:33:22,375 --> 00:33:24,167 Families broken. 643 00:33:24,250 --> 00:33:26,000 Women widowed. 644 00:33:26,083 --> 00:33:28,208 Children orphaned. 645 00:33:28,292 --> 00:33:31,125 We can't look at God and say, "What have you done?" 646 00:33:31,167 --> 00:33:35,333 We have to look at ourselves and say, "Look what we've done." 647 00:33:35,375 --> 00:33:39,208 Look at what sin has done to the world. 648 00:33:39,292 --> 00:33:44,917 That we're working incongruent with God the Creator 649 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,208 and with his creation. 650 00:33:46,292 --> 00:33:51,000 And as a result, everything that God made good has gone very bad. 651 00:33:51,083 --> 00:33:56,917 And it's a reminder of how sinful sin truly is. 652 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,000 And Jesus says in that day, and in the days that continue until 653 00:34:01,083 --> 00:34:06,333 his Second Coming, this is the way the world is going to be. 654 00:34:06,375 --> 00:34:09,333 We're gonna have seasons and cycles of these crises 655 00:34:09,375 --> 00:34:13,208 and tragedies because of sin, 656 00:34:13,292 --> 00:34:16,375 until Jesus comes to put an end to all sin, 657 00:34:16,458 --> 00:34:20,208 to take this world that is corrupted by sin and to liberate 658 00:34:20,292 --> 00:34:24,375 it, and to bring a new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem, 659 00:34:24,458 --> 00:34:28,917 Kingdom of God, a new creation, that we rise from death 660 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,125 in new bodies. 661 00:34:30,167 --> 00:34:31,917 And God says in Revelation, 662 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,083 "Behold, I'm making all things new." 663 00:34:34,167 --> 00:34:36,208 That's the promise and the hope of the Bible. 664 00:34:36,292 --> 00:34:40,333 And so when we see what we'll call natural disasters 665 00:34:40,375 --> 00:34:46,000 and acts of God and hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes 666 00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:50,000 and pestilence and plague and famine and injustice 667 00:34:50,083 --> 00:34:53,208 and tyranny and evil and war, 668 00:34:53,292 --> 00:34:57,000 it's all a dress rehearsal for the end of the age. 669 00:34:57,042 --> 00:35:00,208 When evil makes its final assault, 670 00:35:00,292 --> 00:35:04,125 when Satan and sinners and demons conspire to war 671 00:35:04,167 --> 00:35:06,333 against God and good. 672 00:35:06,375 --> 00:35:10,375 And then they're forever put to rest so that the Kingdom of God 673 00:35:10,458 --> 00:35:12,917 can reign forever. 674 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,000 And so friends, when we see those times, 675 00:35:15,083 --> 00:35:16,208 those are dress rehearsals-- 676 00:35:16,292 --> 00:35:18,333 the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon says-- 677 00:35:18,375 --> 00:35:22,292 those are dress rehearsals and anticipations and preparations 678 00:35:22,333 --> 00:35:26,917 for the end of the age, the Second Coming of Jesus. 679 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,167 He says, in fact, that there will be wars. 680 00:35:31,250 --> 00:35:34,125 And I pulled up a quote from Will Durant, 681 00:35:34,167 --> 00:35:37,000 a very well-respected historian. 682 00:35:37,083 --> 00:35:40,375 He says, "War is one of the constants of history, 683 00:35:40,458 --> 00:35:44,000 "and has not diminished with civilization and democracy. 684 00:35:44,042 --> 00:35:47,333 "In the last 3,421 years of recorded history, 685 00:35:47,375 --> 00:35:51,333 only 268 of those years have seen no war." 686 00:35:51,375 --> 00:35:54,333 That's of recorded history. 687 00:35:54,375 --> 00:35:59,333 There are many nations, places that are not part of what is, 688 00:35:59,375 --> 00:36:03,208 generally speaking, the canon of Western history 689 00:36:03,292 --> 00:36:05,292 and civilization. 690 00:36:05,333 --> 00:36:09,917 But he says there has been constant war, almost unbroken, 691 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,375 even just in recorded history, for more than 3,000 years. 692 00:36:13,458 --> 00:36:18,208 The point is, Jesus' words were true. 693 00:36:18,333 --> 00:36:20,833 And some, then, are very concerned and they take 694 00:36:20,917 --> 00:36:24,333 the Bible and they take the news and they say, 695 00:36:24,375 --> 00:36:26,167 "Well, then this must be the end. 696 00:36:26,208 --> 00:36:27,958 The end must be near." 697 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,125 So all of these books on the Second Coming 698 00:36:30,167 --> 00:36:31,958 and the end of the age, 699 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,250 they were very popular turning into the new millennium. 700 00:36:35,333 --> 00:36:38,167 They're very popular again in light of some of 701 00:36:38,250 --> 00:36:42,958 the natural disasters and crises. 702 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:48,875 Jesus says, in addition, there will be persecution. 703 00:36:48,958 --> 00:36:51,167 That's what he says. 704 00:36:51,250 --> 00:36:57,167 He says, "They will lay their hands on you and persecute you." 705 00:36:57,208 --> 00:37:00,125 That's what he says. 706 00:37:00,167 --> 00:37:02,042 The Christians will suffer. 707 00:37:02,125 --> 00:37:03,250 The Christians will be persecuted. 708 00:37:03,333 --> 00:37:05,958 The followers of Jesus will be persecuted. 709 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:11,333 And he says that they will be handed over by family 710 00:37:11,375 --> 00:37:14,125 and friends and co-workers and neighbors. 711 00:37:14,167 --> 00:37:18,167 And it's a grievous thing. 712 00:37:18,208 --> 00:37:20,833 And there are two kinds of persecution, friends. 713 00:37:20,917 --> 00:37:24,042 There is covert and overt. 714 00:37:24,125 --> 00:37:28,833 The covert is the kind of persecution that we tend to face 715 00:37:28,917 --> 00:37:31,250 in the West. 716 00:37:31,333 --> 00:37:35,833 They don't kill you, they just fire you. 717 00:37:35,917 --> 00:37:37,833 If you're a professor who's an evangelical Christian 718 00:37:37,917 --> 00:37:41,792 at a state university, you just don't get tenure, 719 00:37:41,833 --> 00:37:43,875 you don't get to be in the classroom, 720 00:37:43,958 --> 00:37:49,000 you don't get to espouse your beliefs, you just lose your job. 721 00:37:49,042 --> 00:37:52,083 If you're in a business and you love Jesus and you want to act 722 00:37:52,167 --> 00:37:55,167 according to Christian, biblical principles and conscience and 723 00:37:55,250 --> 00:37:59,250 not steal and not be corrupt and not turn your corporation 724 00:37:59,333 --> 00:38:02,958 into a Ponzi scheme and take advantage of people-- 725 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,125 it's covert persecution. 726 00:38:05,167 --> 00:38:10,833 You're terminated, fired, not promoted, demoted. 727 00:38:10,917 --> 00:38:12,042 Why? 728 00:38:12,125 --> 00:38:14,125 Because you affect profits. 729 00:38:14,167 --> 00:38:17,333 And if profit is god, then we have to make sacrifices 730 00:38:17,375 --> 00:38:19,167 for the god of profit 731 00:38:19,208 --> 00:38:21,917 and that might be the Christian who wants to act 732 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:23,917 according to conscience and Scripture, 733 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,833 with integrity. 734 00:38:25,917 --> 00:38:28,833 This could even be covert persecution in your own family, 735 00:38:28,917 --> 00:38:31,125 where you become a Christian and, 736 00:38:31,167 --> 00:38:34,125 as a friend of mine who recently met Jesus was told by 737 00:38:34,167 --> 00:38:36,250 their family, "You better not be one of those 738 00:38:36,333 --> 00:38:39,333 G-D born-again Bible thumpers." 739 00:38:39,375 --> 00:38:41,833 That's what the family told him. 740 00:38:41,917 --> 00:38:43,333 Well, why? 741 00:38:43,375 --> 00:38:45,167 "Then we're not gonna talk to you 742 00:38:45,208 --> 00:38:47,167 "and we're not gonna hang out with you. 743 00:38:47,208 --> 00:38:49,250 "We don't wanna hear any of this Jesus stuff. 744 00:38:49,333 --> 00:38:50,958 Keep it to yourself." 745 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:52,167 That's covert. 746 00:38:52,208 --> 00:38:54,208 Means don't come over for Christmas to celebrate 747 00:38:54,292 --> 00:38:59,333 the birth of Jesus and say anything about Jesus. 748 00:38:59,375 --> 00:39:01,333 Otherwise, the family's going to persecute. 749 00:39:01,375 --> 00:39:04,208 "We're not gonna call you, we're not gonna talk to you, 750 00:39:04,292 --> 00:39:07,000 "we're not gonna invite you to family affairs and events. 751 00:39:07,042 --> 00:39:08,167 "What are we gonna do? 752 00:39:08,250 --> 00:39:09,375 "We're going to ostracize you. 753 00:39:09,458 --> 00:39:11,083 "We're going to criticize you. 754 00:39:11,167 --> 00:39:12,375 We're going to marginalize you." 755 00:39:12,458 --> 00:39:14,333 Same thing can happen with your friends. 756 00:39:14,375 --> 00:39:16,083 "Oh, I've started going to church, 757 00:39:16,167 --> 00:39:18,208 I'm in a Community Group, I'm reading my Bible." 758 00:39:18,292 --> 00:39:21,208 "Uh oh, then we're not going to invite you out with us, 759 00:39:21,292 --> 00:39:24,000 "we're gonna pull back socially, relationally. 760 00:39:24,042 --> 00:39:26,208 "We're going to criticize you personally. 761 00:39:26,292 --> 00:39:31,208 We're going to find ways to marginalize you practically." 762 00:39:31,292 --> 00:39:33,917 All of that's covert. 763 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,292 It's covert. 764 00:39:35,333 --> 00:39:37,333 It's covert persecution. 765 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:40,208 And sometimes, yes, God would call us to die 766 00:39:40,292 --> 00:39:41,958 for the cause of Jesus. 767 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,958 Sometimes God would call us to live for the cause of Jesus. 768 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,250 And both can be hard. 769 00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:49,125 There are people in Mars Hill who, they've met Jesus, 770 00:39:49,167 --> 00:39:51,958 and their families disowned them, 771 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,958 or their bosses fired them, or their spouses left them. 772 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,125 That's covert persecution. 773 00:39:58,167 --> 00:40:00,250 And Jesus said it'll happen. 774 00:40:00,333 --> 00:40:02,917 All the way up to overt persecution, 775 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,333 which we don't see as much of yet in the West. 776 00:40:05,375 --> 00:40:11,167 We may, we may, with legalization of gay marriage 777 00:40:11,208 --> 00:40:14,958 in New York and with hate speech laws and certain cultural 778 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,958 expectations, it's not inconceivable to think of a day 779 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,833 when those who believe the teaching of the Bible 780 00:40:21,917 --> 00:40:26,042 are seen as breaking the laws of the land. 781 00:40:26,125 --> 00:40:30,333 It's not impossible. 782 00:40:30,375 --> 00:40:37,167 Nonetheless, there is, around the world today, overt persecution. 783 00:40:37,250 --> 00:40:43,000 If you're not familiar with it, go to persecution.org. 784 00:40:43,042 --> 00:40:45,000 It's a great website. 785 00:40:45,042 --> 00:40:48,875 And they'll talk about martyrdom and suffering and how Christians 786 00:40:48,958 --> 00:40:51,083 are being persecuted around the world. 787 00:40:51,167 --> 00:40:53,833 They've got good books and newsletters and they tend to 788 00:40:53,917 --> 00:40:56,167 keep people abreast of what's going on globally. 789 00:40:56,250 --> 00:41:00,833 And, the truth is, that there really is one Church, capital C, 790 00:41:00,917 --> 00:41:04,125 universal Church, made up of all of God's people, 791 00:41:04,167 --> 00:41:06,958 a few billion of us, professing on the earth, 792 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,250 and it doesn't matter what nation or culture or language 793 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:11,958 or tribe those people are a part of, 794 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,125 ultimately, they're part of the capital-C Church; 795 00:41:14,167 --> 00:41:17,042 they're our brothers and sisters in Christ. 796 00:41:17,125 --> 00:41:20,958 And so we need to know what's going on in the world. 797 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,958 And so if you want to educate yourself, 798 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,250 persecution.org is a good place to look at persecution 799 00:41:25,333 --> 00:41:27,042 of Christians. 800 00:41:27,125 --> 00:41:29,042 And we've even seen this practically with those 801 00:41:29,125 --> 00:41:30,250 we're connected to. 802 00:41:30,333 --> 00:41:32,042 In the Acts 29 church-planting network, 803 00:41:32,125 --> 00:41:35,000 we've seen, in the grace of God, about 400 churches planted 804 00:41:35,083 --> 00:41:37,250 in the U.S. and there's a lot of churches participating. 805 00:41:37,333 --> 00:41:39,250 We don't take credit for all of that, 806 00:41:39,333 --> 00:41:42,083 but we do participate in that and give generously toward that, 807 00:41:42,167 --> 00:41:44,833 and now it's expanded to include church planting 808 00:41:44,917 --> 00:41:46,167 in 13 different nations. 809 00:41:46,208 --> 00:41:49,000 And some of the places we've seen the most overt persecution 810 00:41:49,042 --> 00:41:52,250 are India and Pakistan, with Hindu and Muslim radicals and 811 00:41:52,333 --> 00:41:56,083 extremists who will literally, if a village comes to Christ, 812 00:41:56,167 --> 00:41:59,083 come in and burn the homes to the ground 813 00:41:59,167 --> 00:42:01,250 and even slaughter people. 814 00:42:01,333 --> 00:42:03,333 And there have been incidences of that, 815 00:42:03,375 --> 00:42:05,333 including some that have affected even pastors 816 00:42:05,375 --> 00:42:07,250 we're involved with. 817 00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:11,167 One of our pastors, for example, as he was talking to people 818 00:42:11,208 --> 00:42:14,917 about Jesus, false charges were made against him by, 819 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000 I think it was Hindu extremists, 820 00:42:17,083 --> 00:42:18,833 and they brought him up on charges. 821 00:42:18,917 --> 00:42:20,167 And he was actually arrested. 822 00:42:20,208 --> 00:42:24,042 Pastor went to jail, one of our guys. 823 00:42:24,125 --> 00:42:28,208 And his court case lasted 3 years, 824 00:42:28,292 --> 00:42:31,125 just for talking about Jesus. 825 00:42:31,167 --> 00:42:33,958 Ultimately, the most amazing thing happened, 826 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:38,875 and that was those extremists who were seeking to silence him, 827 00:42:38,958 --> 00:42:42,167 they got saved, they met Jesus, they became Christians, 828 00:42:42,208 --> 00:42:46,083 and they stood before the judge in court and openly declared, 829 00:42:46,167 --> 00:42:50,083 "These were false charges, for 3 years we've been lying, 830 00:42:50,167 --> 00:42:55,000 we've met Jesus, the pastor's done nothing wrong." 831 00:42:55,042 --> 00:42:59,000 You can cheer for that if you like; that's amazing. 832 00:42:59,042 --> 00:43:02,958 A more tragic story was a pastor that we were connected to, 833 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:07,833 as well, in that same region of India and Pakistan. 834 00:43:07,917 --> 00:43:11,833 He and his brother were brought up on charges 835 00:43:11,917 --> 00:43:13,333 for preaching Jesus. 836 00:43:13,375 --> 00:43:16,000 So they had a day in court. 837 00:43:16,083 --> 00:43:18,833 An extremist walked into court with an AK-47, 838 00:43:18,917 --> 00:43:21,167 shot and killed them both. 839 00:43:21,208 --> 00:43:24,167 These are church planters we're connected to. 840 00:43:24,208 --> 00:43:26,250 This was on national--international news. 841 00:43:26,333 --> 00:43:27,958 It's not a secret. 842 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,250 It was a few years ago. 843 00:43:29,333 --> 00:43:33,833 Shot and killed both brothers dead. 844 00:43:33,917 --> 00:43:37,833 So there is overt persecution, there is covert persecution, 845 00:43:37,917 --> 00:43:40,875 and what Jesus said has come to pass, 846 00:43:40,958 --> 00:43:44,958 both in the near and in the far, in that day and in ours. 847 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,792 So what do we do with this? 848 00:43:47,833 --> 00:43:50,083 I mean, the temple will be destroyed, 849 00:43:50,167 --> 00:43:54,792 false teachers will arise, and sin will continue! 850 00:43:54,833 --> 00:43:58,167 That's pretty scary stuff, right? 851 00:43:58,208 --> 00:44:01,833 What do you do as a believer? 852 00:44:01,917 --> 00:44:04,042 What if it gets worse? 853 00:44:04,125 --> 00:44:07,250 What if there's more earthquakes and famine and poverty 854 00:44:07,333 --> 00:44:09,917 and terrorist attacks and the bottom falls out 855 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,917 and we're all upside down financially? 856 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:17,958 What if false teachers rise up and the cults become more 857 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,208 powerful and the false world religions get bigger 858 00:44:21,292 --> 00:44:25,917 and Islam continues to expand and grow into urban centers? 859 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,250 And what if even out of what was faithful Christianity, 860 00:44:29,333 --> 00:44:33,208 even new cults rise up and maybe some of the young leaders who 861 00:44:33,292 --> 00:44:36,250 were formerly evangelical pastors that are becoming increasingly 862 00:44:36,333 --> 00:44:39,167 popular but denying essential doctrines, 863 00:44:39,208 --> 00:44:42,250 what if they end up being cult leaders and our version of 864 00:44:42,333 --> 00:44:45,875 Joseph Smith or Charles Taze Russell 865 00:44:45,958 --> 00:44:48,083 and young people are led astray 866 00:44:48,167 --> 00:44:51,167 in large numbers and cults are formed? 867 00:44:51,250 --> 00:44:55,250 What do we do? 868 00:44:58,125 --> 00:45:01,958 Jesus tells us. 869 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,208 Make the most of every opportunity. 870 00:45:04,292 --> 00:45:07,917 I love this. 871 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:12,833 Luke 21:13-19, "This will be your--" what? 872 00:45:12,917 --> 00:45:15,917 This will be your what? 873 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:17,958 "Opportunity!" 874 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,833 Not your tragedy, your opportunity. 875 00:45:21,917 --> 00:45:25,042 Not your end, your beginning. 876 00:45:25,125 --> 00:45:28,917 Not the worst thing that could have happened, 877 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,917 but the biggest opportunity you've been given. 878 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:34,958 "This will be your opportunity," to what? 879 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:37,167 "To bear witness. 880 00:45:37,250 --> 00:45:42,167 "Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand 881 00:45:42,250 --> 00:45:46,083 "how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, 882 00:45:46,167 --> 00:45:49,083 "which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand 883 00:45:49,167 --> 00:45:51,042 "or contradict. 884 00:45:51,125 --> 00:45:54,083 "You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and 885 00:45:54,167 --> 00:45:57,792 relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death." 886 00:45:57,833 --> 00:46:00,167 Covert and overt persecution. 887 00:46:00,208 --> 00:46:03,167 "You will be hated by all for my name's sake." 888 00:46:03,208 --> 00:46:06,250 A lot of people are gonna hate us and hate you. 889 00:46:06,333 --> 00:46:09,000 "But not a hair of your head will perish. 890 00:46:09,083 --> 00:46:13,167 By your endurance you will gain your lives." 891 00:46:13,208 --> 00:46:15,333 Here's what he's saying. 892 00:46:15,375 --> 00:46:20,042 The worst tragedies can be the best opportunities. 893 00:46:20,125 --> 00:46:23,167 When the world runs out of hope and runs out of help, 894 00:46:23,208 --> 00:46:26,917 that's when the Christians run in. 895 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:28,208 Yes, things are hard. 896 00:46:28,292 --> 00:46:30,000 Yes, days are dark. 897 00:46:30,083 --> 00:46:32,958 Yes, the world feels like it's falling apart. 898 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:35,875 Yes, the nations are literally shaking. 899 00:46:35,958 --> 00:46:39,167 Earthquakes, tsunamis, poverty. 900 00:46:39,250 --> 00:46:42,250 It is global pandemic. 901 00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:46,083 The United States of America just keeps printing money, 902 00:46:46,167 --> 00:46:48,792 pretending that somehow, someway, 903 00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:52,875 someday a savior will come in the form of an economic 904 00:46:52,958 --> 00:46:58,875 turnaround or a presidential candidate or a global lifting 905 00:46:58,958 --> 00:47:01,250 of this painful recession. 906 00:47:01,333 --> 00:47:04,167 And what if it doesn't happen? 907 00:47:04,208 --> 00:47:07,833 It's our opportunity. 908 00:47:07,917 --> 00:47:11,167 It's our opportunity to say there is a world 909 00:47:11,208 --> 00:47:13,250 after this world. 910 00:47:13,333 --> 00:47:16,958 There is a King beyond our kings and queens and princes and 911 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:22,000 princesses and politicians; his name is Jesus. 912 00:47:22,083 --> 00:47:26,167 That King has a Kingdom that never ends. 913 00:47:26,208 --> 00:47:30,208 That ultimately this life, though it is exceedingly 914 00:47:30,292 --> 00:47:33,250 important, it is for a little while, 915 00:47:33,333 --> 00:47:36,792 and the one to come is the one that lasts forever. 916 00:47:36,833 --> 00:47:39,000 There is life after this world. 917 00:47:39,042 --> 00:47:40,958 This world is not our home. 918 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:42,792 This world is not our heaven. 919 00:47:42,833 --> 00:47:45,875 This world is not our hope. 920 00:47:45,958 --> 00:47:49,000 That ultimately, things are not as God intended, 921 00:47:49,042 --> 00:47:52,875 and Jesus is coming to make all things new. 922 00:47:52,958 --> 00:47:54,792 And we have a message of hope. 923 00:47:54,833 --> 00:47:56,167 We have a message of help. 924 00:47:56,208 --> 00:47:58,167 We have a message of healing. 925 00:47:58,250 --> 00:48:00,208 That Jesus Christ is alive. 926 00:48:00,292 --> 00:48:03,000 That Jesus Christ is King of Kings. 927 00:48:03,083 --> 00:48:05,250 That Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords. 928 00:48:05,333 --> 00:48:08,958 That Jesus Christ makes life meaningful. 929 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:13,000 That Jesus Christ makes death meaningful. 930 00:48:13,083 --> 00:48:16,958 That Jesus Christ makes suffering meaningful. 931 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:21,000 That Jesus Christ makes persecution meaningful. 932 00:48:21,083 --> 00:48:25,250 And one day we will die and we will leave it all here. 933 00:48:25,333 --> 00:48:27,250 And we will be with him. 934 00:48:27,333 --> 00:48:30,042 And everything we need will be given by him. 935 00:48:30,125 --> 00:48:33,917 And everything we've suffered will be healed by him. 936 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:39,958 And everything we've longed for will be fulfilled in him. 937 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:42,958 And so what he's saying is the worst tragedies can be 938 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,042 the best opportunities. 939 00:48:45,125 --> 00:48:46,917 That friends, when times get hard, 940 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:49,833 don't ask the wrong questions: "Where is God? 941 00:48:49,917 --> 00:48:51,208 "Does he care? Is he good? 942 00:48:51,292 --> 00:48:53,208 "Is he paying attention? Does he love me? 943 00:48:53,292 --> 00:48:56,250 Will he forsake me? Has he abandoned me?" 944 00:48:56,333 --> 00:48:59,250 Those are all the wrong questions. 945 00:48:59,333 --> 00:49:03,000 Instead, ask this question: "Where's the opportunity? 946 00:49:03,042 --> 00:49:04,375 "Who can I help? 947 00:49:04,458 --> 00:49:06,208 "Where can I serve? 948 00:49:06,292 --> 00:49:08,083 What should I say?" 949 00:49:08,167 --> 00:49:10,167 This is my opportunity. 950 00:49:10,250 --> 00:49:12,000 And these people in that day, 951 00:49:12,083 --> 00:49:14,208 they felt like the bottom fell out. 952 00:49:14,292 --> 00:49:17,375 The temple is torn down stone by stone, 953 00:49:17,458 --> 00:49:22,333 roughly 40 years after Jesus prophesied this. 954 00:49:22,375 --> 00:49:29,167 Shortly after the temple was concluded, it was dismantled. 955 00:49:30,333 --> 00:49:33,333 They can no longer worship in the presence of God 956 00:49:33,375 --> 00:49:35,167 as they had previously. 957 00:49:35,250 --> 00:49:36,833 The priests are gone. 958 00:49:36,917 --> 00:49:39,125 Do you know what happened to the nation of Jerusalem? 959 00:49:39,167 --> 00:49:40,833 The Romans sieged it. 960 00:49:40,917 --> 00:49:42,917 That means they surrounded it. 961 00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:45,167 They cut off all the food and all the water 962 00:49:45,208 --> 00:49:48,833 and all of the supplies for months. 963 00:49:48,917 --> 00:49:52,042 Historians like Josephus and Tacitus, outside of the Bible, 964 00:49:52,125 --> 00:49:54,000 they record what happened. 965 00:49:54,083 --> 00:49:58,250 The city started to starve to death and the Romans 966 00:49:58,333 --> 00:50:00,958 just waited patiently. 967 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:06,333 People started dying of starvation and dehydration. 968 00:50:06,375 --> 00:50:11,167 Some literally started eating the dust of the ground. 969 00:50:11,208 --> 00:50:13,208 Mothers who were pregnant miscarried 970 00:50:13,292 --> 00:50:15,167 because of malnutrition. 971 00:50:15,208 --> 00:50:19,042 Children who were born healthy died because their mother was 972 00:50:19,125 --> 00:50:24,917 so lacking nutrients that she couldn't even feed her own baby. 973 00:50:27,167 --> 00:50:30,833 There are reports of cannibalism where people would kill 974 00:50:30,917 --> 00:50:34,958 and eat one another in the city of Jerusalem. 975 00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:39,083 The bottom fell out worse than what you and I 976 00:50:39,167 --> 00:50:43,833 have ever experienced or seen. 977 00:50:43,917 --> 00:50:48,000 Josephus says that upwards of a million Jews died. 978 00:50:48,042 --> 00:50:50,083 It was a Holocaust. 979 00:50:50,167 --> 00:50:52,792 Tacitus comes along about the 4th century, 980 00:50:52,833 --> 00:50:54,167 another respected historian, 981 00:50:54,208 --> 00:50:57,167 and says the number was maybe half a million. 982 00:50:57,250 --> 00:50:59,083 No one will ever know. 983 00:50:59,167 --> 00:51:02,833 The point is, hundreds of thousands of people died, 984 00:51:02,917 --> 00:51:05,125 starved to death. 985 00:51:05,167 --> 00:51:08,000 And when the Romans took the city, 986 00:51:08,083 --> 00:51:10,833 there was no resistance because the people 987 00:51:10,917 --> 00:51:13,208 had no fight left in them. 988 00:51:13,292 --> 00:51:15,125 Their lives were destroyed. 989 00:51:15,167 --> 00:51:17,250 Their businesses were destroyed. 990 00:51:17,333 --> 00:51:19,042 Their homes were destroyed. 991 00:51:19,125 --> 00:51:20,917 Their religion was destroyed. 992 00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:22,250 Their city was destroyed. 993 00:51:22,333 --> 00:51:27,000 Their nation was destroyed. 994 00:51:27,083 --> 00:51:33,208 And it was the best opportunity because the Christians left 995 00:51:35,125 --> 00:51:37,875 with the story of Jesus: 996 00:51:37,958 --> 00:51:41,167 that apparently the world has changed, 997 00:51:41,250 --> 00:51:46,250 and how we used to know God is not how we now know God because 998 00:51:46,333 --> 00:51:51,167 the shadows have gone away, and the Son of God has come. 999 00:51:51,250 --> 00:51:54,958 And all of a sudden, the worst tragedy became 1000 00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:57,792 the best opportunity. 1001 00:51:57,833 --> 00:52:02,250 All of a sudden, the Christians scattered. 1002 00:52:02,333 --> 00:52:05,833 And to this day we're scattered all over the earth. 1003 00:52:05,917 --> 00:52:09,958 And there are billions of us, not just Jews, 1004 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:13,250 but Gentiles from all the nations. 1005 00:52:13,333 --> 00:52:16,250 And the worst tragedy became the best opportunity. 1006 00:52:16,333 --> 00:52:18,042 And here's the big idea, friends. 1007 00:52:18,125 --> 00:52:21,958 God does not do evil, but he uses it. 1008 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:27,000 God does not do evil, but he uses it for good. 1009 00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:33,167 God works out all things for the good of those who love him, 1010 00:52:33,208 --> 00:52:36,000 the Bible promises. 1011 00:52:36,042 --> 00:52:39,250 God takes what was intended for evil and uses it for good, 1012 00:52:39,333 --> 00:52:45,083 the saving of many lives, the Bible says. 1013 00:52:45,167 --> 00:52:50,083 Friends, if you're not in that season, 1014 00:52:50,167 --> 00:52:53,167 there may come a day when you are in that season; 1015 00:52:53,250 --> 00:52:56,875 that it feels like your life has ended, 1016 00:52:56,958 --> 00:53:00,917 the bottom has fallen out, the world as you know it 1017 00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:04,250 has gone upside down. 1018 00:53:04,333 --> 00:53:07,167 Your boss says, "You're fired." 1019 00:53:07,208 --> 00:53:09,958 Your spouse says, "I'm divorcing." 1020 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:13,958 Your children say, "I hate Jesus." 1021 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:18,917 Your doctor says, "It's cancer." 1022 00:53:22,167 --> 00:53:29,167 It can be an opportunity to testify. 1023 00:53:29,208 --> 00:53:32,833 That's what Jesus says. 1024 00:53:32,917 --> 00:53:34,333 "Well, here's who Jesus is. 1025 00:53:34,375 --> 00:53:36,250 "Here's who I am in Jesus. 1026 00:53:36,333 --> 00:53:38,250 "Here's the hope that I have. 1027 00:53:38,333 --> 00:53:40,958 "Here's the purpose for the life that I live. 1028 00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:44,250 And here's the eternity that awaits me." 1029 00:53:51,250 --> 00:53:56,250 The worst tragedies can be the best opportunities. 1030 00:53:59,208 --> 00:54:03,167 Father God, thank you for the Scriptures. 1031 00:54:03,208 --> 00:54:07,833 That God, you don't promise us that if we belong to you, 1032 00:54:07,917 --> 00:54:09,958 life will be easy. 1033 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:12,917 But you do promise us that if we belong to you, 1034 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:18,042 life will be meaningful, life will be purposeful, 1035 00:54:18,125 --> 00:54:21,042 life will be fruitful. 1036 00:54:21,125 --> 00:54:25,958 God, we believe that you're good, and you don't do evil, 1037 00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:30,917 but you are sovereign and powerful and you will even use 1038 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:34,000 evil for good. 1039 00:54:34,083 --> 00:54:38,250 And God, this is the story of Jesus. 1040 00:54:40,250 --> 00:54:42,833 The worst evil in the history of the world, 1041 00:54:42,917 --> 00:54:47,167 is that the creation murdered its Creator; 1042 00:54:47,250 --> 00:54:52,792 that sinners murdered their Savior. 1043 00:54:52,833 --> 00:54:59,083 And God, the worst tragedy became, at the cross of Jesus, 1044 00:54:59,167 --> 00:55:04,958 the greatest opportunity. 1045 00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:10,917 Lord God, when his friend betrayed him, 1046 00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:12,833 when his disciples abandoned him, 1047 00:55:12,917 --> 00:55:17,000 when his family disowned him, 1048 00:55:17,083 --> 00:55:19,833 when the soldiers arrested him 1049 00:55:19,917 --> 00:55:23,208 and beat him and mocked him and scorned him 1050 00:55:23,292 --> 00:55:25,250 and plucked out his beard 1051 00:55:25,333 --> 00:55:30,250 and scourged him and ultimately crucified him, 1052 00:55:30,333 --> 00:55:36,083 it was you, Lord Jesus, who testified. 1053 00:55:36,167 --> 00:55:38,792 The Holy Spirit gave you the words to say, 1054 00:55:38,833 --> 00:55:41,875 "Father, forgive them. 1055 00:55:41,958 --> 00:55:44,875 "It is finished. 1056 00:55:44,958 --> 00:55:49,167 Into your hands I commit my spirit." 1057 00:55:49,250 --> 00:55:53,167 Jesus, we thank you that you died for our sins, 1058 00:55:53,250 --> 00:55:57,792 that you rose as our Savior, that you're coming again. 1059 00:55:57,833 --> 00:56:01,167 We do not know when, but we know that it will happen. 1060 00:56:01,208 --> 00:56:04,333 And when it does, I pray that you would find us, individually 1061 00:56:04,375 --> 00:56:08,125 and corporately, exceedingly glad, 1062 00:56:08,167 --> 00:56:11,917 not on the planning committee arguing over the details, 1063 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:16,833 but on the welcoming committee celebrating your arrival. 1064 00:56:16,917 --> 00:56:21,042 And Jesus, we thank you that you took the worst tragedy 1065 00:56:21,125 --> 00:56:24,125 and turned it into the greatest opportunity. 1066 00:56:24,167 --> 00:56:28,208 And we pray when our days are dark and our body is weak 1067 00:56:28,292 --> 00:56:31,958 and our heart is discouraged and our soul is saddened 1068 00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:36,083 and our life is confusing, 1069 00:56:36,167 --> 00:56:41,792 that you would remind us of that wonderful word, 1070 00:56:41,833 --> 00:56:45,042 "This is your opportunity." 1071 00:56:45,125 --> 00:56:47,958 Amen.